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Attempted attack occurred one year to the minute since Charlie Hebdo killings

(CNN)Paris, on edge after weathering a year of jihadist violence, faced a fresh scare Thursday as police shot dead a knife-wielding man on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

An image of the ISIS flag, printed on paper, was found on the man's body, along with a handwritten note in Arabic from him claiming responsibility for the attack, the Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement. Theoffice's anti-terror section is investigating.

The man, whose identity is not known, was shot as he attempted to enter a police station in the northern Paris neighborhood of Barbes, bearing a butcher's knife and yelling "Allahu Akbar," the statement said. He was carrying a fake explosive device, it said.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said at a press conference that investigations were underway to determine the identity of the attacker and his motivations.

"In a country where the threat level is extremely high, the police and gendarmerie are on the front lines," he said. "I'd like to thank them for their very great courage ... and their commitment to protect the French people."

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The attempted attack took place at 11:30 a.m., the Paris prosecutor's office said -- a year to the minute since the Charlie Hebdo killings,the first of a spate of deadly jihadist attacks that have roiled the French capital over the past 12 months.

Two more attacks -- one against a police officer and another that included a hostage-taking at a kosher supermarket -- brought the final death toll to 17.

On high alert against the jihadist threat since then, France suffered an even greater blow November 13 when 130 people were killed in Paris in coordinated attacks on a concert hall, bars, restaurants and a sports stadium. ISIS claimed responsibility.

In the aftermath, French President Francois Hollande declared that the country was at war with the terror group and set about strengthening international efforts to strike ISIS on territory it controls in Syria and Iraq.

'It's going to be this way'

Caroline Fourest, former journalist at Charlie Hebdo, responded like many Parisians with weary resignation to Thursday's attempt -- a reflection that such incidents had become "the new normal" in France over the past year.

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Officers advised residents to remain indoors and attempted to clear the area. At the Polyvalent de la Goutte d'Or, a school on the same street as the police station, students were confined in the building, school director Eric Denis told CNN.

Parisians, already wary on a highly sensitive anniversary, were left to speculate about the attacker's motivations: whether he was a lone wolf, a disturbed individual or possibly the first wave of the kind of coordinated attacks that struck in November.

Terrorism expert Jean-Charles Brisard, president of the Center for Analysis of Terrorism, noted the attack occurred in the 18th arrondissement, which could have a symbolic connection to the ISIS-claimed November attacks.

Charlie Hebdo editor and cartoonist Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb, was among the 12 people killed in a terror attack Wednesday, January 7, at the magazine's offices in Paris. On January 9, four hostages were killed when a gunman seized a Jewish grocery store and killed them before police moved in.

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Jean Cabut, also known as Cabu, was one of the well-known Charlie Hebdo cartoonists killed in the attack. London's Daily Mail described him as "an almost legendary cultural figure in France."

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Cartoonist Georges Wolinski, 80, was a political cartoonist. "He was a great satirical artist," said Mexican cartoonist Felipe Galindo, a friend of Wolinski, who once presented him with an award. "Nothing was sacred for him. He would touch anything. But he was also a very gentle, very kind man."

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Cartoonist Bernard Verlhac, also known as Tignous, was a man "who enjoyed freedom to its fullest in his artistic creativity and published his cartoons without fear," said Ecuadorian cartoonist Xavier Bonilla.

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Economist Bernard Maris was among the magazine's contributors. He wrote about economic issues under the byline of "Oncle Bernard," contributed to mainstream broadcasts and taught at Université Paris 8, the Globe and Mail reported.

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Cartoonist Philippe Honoré, also known as Honoré, was born in wartime France, in Vichy in 1941.

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Michel Renaud was a visitor at the newspaper office. He was known for his work on the cultural life of Clermont-Ferrand and held several positions in the municipality, France 3 Auvergne reported.

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Elsa Cayat, the only woman killed in the newspaper attack, was a psychoanalyst and twice-monthly columnist for the paper.

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Ahmed Merabet was a member of the 11th arrondissement police force that pursued the attacker of the newspaper office. Merabet was Muslim, his brother Malek told reporters. "He was killed by false Muslims," the brother said. "Islam is a safe religion."

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Yoav Hattab, 21, one of the four hostages killed at the kosher grocery on January 9. He was the son of the chief rabbi of Tunis, Tunisia, JSSNews reported.

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Yohan Cohen was a 22-year-old student, according JSSNews and a French news outlet. He liked rap, particularly French rapper Booba.

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Philippe Braham was in his 40s, and no further details were immediately available, JSSNews reported.

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François-Michel Saada, 63, was a retired senior executive, according to French news outlets RTL and Agence-France Press.

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The terror group's claim of responsibility for those killings referred to an operation in the 18th arrondissement, but none occurred there.That statement, along with a reference to eight attackers when there had only been seven, led to speculation an eighth jihadist had planned an attack in the district but backed out.

Regis Le Sommier, co-editor of Paris Match magazine, said he was inclined to think the latest attack was self-directed, rather than coordinated by the central command of ISIS or another terror group, since it took place on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo assault.

Since 9/11, he said, jihadists had not shown any particular interest in striking on the anniversaries of terror attacks despite the sensitivities around the dates. "That probably makes me think that he decided to do it on his own," he told CNN.